Many toilet units include a bowl which has a seat and a cover mounted thereon by means of a hinge element. The seat and cover are moved between a horizontal bowl-covering position and a vertically upright, bowl-uncovering position.
A problem with many toilet units, especially older ones, is that the seat and cover may not remain upright because the hinge element has become worn. This has caused problems in many areas, especially in hospitals or nursing homes where a patient may not be capable of lifting the seat himself. As such, the art has several examples of devices that are intended to hold a toilet seat and cover in an upright, bowl-uncovering orientation. One example of such proposals is found in U.S. Pat. No. 4,707,870 which discloses a hook-like bracket that is mounted on the toilet and secures the cover or the seat of the toilet unit to the tank in an upright orientation.
While somewhat successful in achieving the object of securing a cover or a seat in an upright position, such devices still have several drawbacks. Many of these drawbacks are caused by the fixed nature of the device. That is, the holding device remains in place, even when the seat and/or the cover is in the bowl-closing position. Such fixed nature may create problems in cleaning both of the toilet itself and of the device. The toilet may also tend to become discolored where the device is attached thereto.
Such fixed nature of the mounting also creates problems with the opening and closing the seat and the cover. The seat and/or the cover must be forced past the holding device when the cover is being opened, yet the device must be designed to permit that cover to be moved therepast to close the unit. The device must be specially designed, and this still may cause problems with older or incapacitated patients. This is especially so if special manipulation is required to move the cover and/or seat past the device.
Therefore, there is a need for a holding device which will hold a toilet seat and/or a toilet cover in an upright, bowl-uncovering position yet can be easily moved to permit cleaning of the toilet unit and the device and to permit the cover and/or the seat to be closed in and easy manner when necessary.